Vatican City, May 25, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, sent a telegram expressing Pope John Paul II’s solidarity with the victims of floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Both nations share the same Island—Hispaniola--in the Caribbean.
The telegraph says that His Holiness, “deeply grieved upon learning the painful news of the great floods that have struck an extensive area of the Dominican Republic, causing numerous fatalities and leaving many families without a home, offers his prayers for the eternal repose of the dead, and raises his pleas to the Lord that He may concede His solace to those affected and inspire feelings of Christian solidarity in those able to help to remedy the tragic affects of this natural disaster.”
The Holy Father also expresses his “deeply-felt condolences to the families of the deceased, and express his paternal solicitude and spiritual closeness to the victims. With these feelings he imparts his heartfelt and comforting Apostolic Blessing as a sign of hope in the Risen Lord.”